Jan Oblak made a sensational early save, but Atletico Madrid's 18-match unbeaten run in LaLiga came to an end with a defeat at Real Betis.

Patric Ridge

03 February, 2019 23:28 IST

Sergio Canales holds off Antoine Griezmann - Getty Images

Patric Ridge

03 February, 2019 23:28 IST

Atletico Madrid's LaLiga title hopes were dealt a huge blow as Sergio Canales' penalty claimed a 1-0 win for Real Betis on Sunday.

With LaLiga leader Barcelona having drawn on Saturday, Atleti knew that a victory would have taken it to within three points of Ernesto Valverde's side.

But Atleti failed to make Barca pay for their slip up, and having been denied by a spectacular stop from Jan Oblak early on, Betis struck when Canales slotted home from 12 yards out in the 65th minute following Filipe Luis' handball.

Diego Simeone will likely point to debutant Alvaro Morata having had what looked to be a clear penalty claim turned down earlier in the second half, while Antoine Griezmann hit the woodwork, but that was the most Atleti could muster as they suffered its first LaLiga defeat since September.

Atleti had Oblak to thank three minutes in, its goalkeeper lunging to his right to sensationally keep out Zouhair Feddal's header.

Oblak's save proved the highlight of a sluggish first half, but Atleti came out with renewed vigour after the interval, and was adamant it should have had a penalty in the 55th minute.

Morata drew an awkward sliding challenge from Feddal in the box, only for the referee to award a corner, with VAR not used to review the incident despite Atleti's protestations.

Atleti's luck got worse 10 minutes later – substitute Filipe Luis handling in the area, with Canales making no mistake despite Oblak diving the right way.

Griezmann curled a sublime strike onto the frame of the goal moments later, but Betis held firm to inflict a damaging blow to Atleti's title challenge.

Simeone's side had gone a remarkable 18 league games without a defeat before Sunday's trip to Seville, but now have to lift itself ahead of a derby clash with Real Madrid next time out, and it heads into that fixture still six points behind Barca.

Betis, meanwhile, is up into sixth place, and may still harbour hopes of Champions League qualification.

Imperious Oblak

On the rare occasions teams do breach Atleti's defence, it then has one of the world's best goalkeepers to beat, and Oblak proved his credentials once again with that stunning early stop. Unfortunately for Atleti, Canales – who with six goals this term now has his best return since the 2009-10 campaign – kept his composure from the spot.

Much-maligned Morata fails to spark

The hope is that Morata will be revitalised by his move back to the Spanish capital, but based on Sunday's evidence, the striker has a long way to go to recapture the form of his Real days. He looked devoid of confidence for much of his debut, though was unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty on the occasion he did get behind Betis' lines.

What's next?

It's the small matter of the Madrid derby against Real for Atleti next time out, while Betis hosts Valencia in the first leg of its Copa del Rey semifinal.

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